Lately, I have been deeply saddened by what is happening around the world. After the election night, I had to gather myself on what the hell had happened; next morning, I decided to vent my anger and frustrations by taking a leave from work. Like everyone else, I had been thinking of finding and visiting the Canadian immigration website but I stopped myself immediately. Wait, THIS is my home and I am not going anywhere. To have a home, means to fight for it no matter what the given circumstances.

Although I am a native of Nepal, I came into this country along with my family with a lot of hope. When my mother announced almost 7 years ago that we were moving to the United Sates, we were ecstatic. The only New York City that I saw, were in the movies-- of course when I reached here, I wasn't too surprised or disappointed. To me, New York City was now a home, whether I liked it or not.

I remember going through the "culture shock" phase within just a few days of arriving here. I missed my home back in Nepal and I didn't want to accept the fact that I would have to stay here for as long as I needed to. My family started having difficulties adjusting to the new environment as well. I never really got to appreciate my country; I never described myself as a patriotic person because I knew that I belonged to a place thousands of miles across the oceans. Little did I know, my country was everything to me.

I was born and raised in a small house under the care of a strong mother--although we had little and my father left for London to provide for us, my parents never let me feel deficiencies of any kind. My motherland remained resilient and strong during all the civil wars it went through--she lifted us, sacrificed her life for us and made sure we never lost our home. While she still stands proud, she waits for me and welcomes my presence. Only now, I realize how precious my home was to me.

I consider New York my second home--a home that I could always return to. This is the only place in America I want to be. I have developed myself so extensively over the years, that I feel truly grateful for what this place and these people have offered me. I am so glad to be home and I have decided to do everything in my power to protect us. My dreams and hopes were crushed when Trump won the Presidential election; I felt like our home was being taken away from us. However, I realized that we can fight for our country; nobody can take away what belongs to us if we stand together and demand our freedom and rights.

Even though Donald Trump, and his racist, sexist, misogenic and homophobic ideologies have taken hold of this country, this presidency only calls for the American people to truly protect our people and fight together for what is right. From here onwards, we will only become stronger and more unified.